Carlos Yamazaki - All Misemono - 1997

All Misemono

Carlos Yamazaki
Curiosity World, Inc/1997/Japanese/220*320*15

The freak show was a unique feature of festivals and fairs. Carlos Yamazaki, who was fascinated by the freak shows, which were separated from everyday life and offered a mixture of unusual and dreary entertainment, visited freak shows all over Japan and compiled his findings in this book, “All Freak Shows”. The book is filled with materials such as horrifying picture signs drawn with a unique touch, actual photographs, explanations of the acts (oral presentations), posters announcing the performances, and large bags of money given out to the performers. The book introduces a wide variety of entertainment such as snake women, mermaids, human-headed spider girls, human pumps, deformed children, female Tarzan, circus and animal acrobatics, women's professional wrestling, and many others that tickle the public's interest, whether they want to see them or not. This is a valuable book that reveals the culture of the freak show, a culture that is hard to find today, through steady coverage. The book is ring-bound, with some of the pages folded over, and elaborately designed with picture signs and explanations presented in pairs.